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Female-Led Expendables Spinoff ‘Expendabelles’ Revived as Y2K-Set Origin Story

The Cannes rollout signals a push to refresh the franchise with a new female ensemble.

Overview

  • Eclectic Pictures and Hollywood Ventures Group unveiled the revived project Friday at the Cannes Film Festival, entering an early packaging phase with talks underway with distributors, financiers, and creative partners.
  • The film is planned as an origin story set in the late 1990s, using Y2K-era tension as a backdrop to introduce a new generation of elite female operatives in a standalone, action-driven entry.
  • Producers Heidi Jo Markel and Glenn Gainor are leading the effort with support reported from Lionsgate, which acquired the Expendables rights late last year.
  • The team says it is actively assembling creative talent, with no director, writers, cast, production timeline, or release date announced.
  • This revival replaces an abandoned 2014 attempt that never shot, and it arrives after the franchise’s recent box-office slide and mixed results for other female-led action films, factors that heighten both the opportunity and the risk.